Latest / The Ian Furness Show / Ian Furness 9/16 H2: A sit down with WSU AD John Haarlow and a little something good!

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Ian Furness 9/16 H2: A sit down with WSU AD John Haarlow and a little something good! · The Ian Furness Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, from the Star Reynolds Sports Desk, your 93.3 KJR
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: FM Sports Headlines. Brought to you by Frost Brew Coors,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: like cold as the Rockies. All right, Mike McDonald here
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, where I'm sitting as
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we speak, speaking about an hour ago to the media.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Lots of news. Again, confirming Sam Donald will not play
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: this week. Doesn't sound like it's too serious, and sounds
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: like his rehab is going quite well. We'll find out.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: His status in the coming days. But he is out
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: this week against Arizona. Drew Locke will start. Jalen Milrow
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: will be the backup. And Milrow will get snaps with
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the first-team offense in practice this week. They will not
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: sign a third quarterback as of right now. Other injury news.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Nick Eamon, Worry, Torrey Horton both expected to practice today.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: In what fashion? We'll find out. Ty Okada has a
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: chance to play this week against the Arizona Cardinals. More
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: NFL news. Bad news for the 49ers, man. I'll tell
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: you what. It's even becoming so hard I can't joke
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: about the damn substation. Rookie wide receiver Deshaun Stripling, who's
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: a big part of their offense this season, ankle surgery.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: He's going to be out at least 10 weeks, is
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: going on the IR. Tight end Jake Tunges is out
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: for the season with a knee injury as well, according
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: to Kyle Shanahan. NFL sent a memo today to the
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: club saying that defensive tackles Zavian Harris and tight end
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Daquan Wright. Remember those two guys played in the NFL
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: preseason games, were in training camps with NFL teams, tried
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: to go back to LSU. They are ineligible to play
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: in the NFL and the NCAA this season. You know
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: what they can do? Actually, they can go hang out
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: with Brendan Sorsby. They can just go hang out all
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: together for a while and wait for the draft next
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: year and see what happens at that point in time.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Mariners losing yesterday. We know that. They're done. Put a
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  Speaker 1: fork in them. It's over. It's finished. Fini, fini, fini.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: They finished that series with the Angels today. 640 is
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  Speaker 1: the first pitch. Hour number two. All right, welcome back in.
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  Speaker 1: Sports Radio 93.3 KGRFM. Ian Furness with you, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: excited to have in studio today the Athletic Director of
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  Speaker 1: Washington State University. John Harlow is over on the west side.
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  Speaker 1: He's kind enough to come in studio. Lots of stuff
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  Speaker 1: to discuss. Bigger picture college football, college athletics, and as
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  Speaker 1: well as Washington State as well. And John's stopping by.
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  Speaker 1: How are you? I'm good. Thanks for having me. This
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  Speaker 1: is good. I appreciate you coming in. It's way better
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  Speaker 1: than a phone interview or a Zoom or something like that.
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  Speaker 1: I want to start with this just because I think
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot of college... sports fans. I was going
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  Speaker 1: to say college football, but basketball and all college sports.
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  Speaker 1: We're watching ESPN game day last weekend, and you're watching
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: games all last weekend. And it was interesting because all
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  Speaker 1: throughout those games, ESPN, the pregame show, they had Ted
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  Speaker 1: Cruz on set. And then during the games, there's spots
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  Speaker 1: running for the Protect College Sports Act, which is being
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  Speaker 1: sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz out of Texas, who was
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  Speaker 1: on set. And then Maria Cantwell from our state, Senator Cantwell.
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  Speaker 1: And there's just this, it's wild, this backlash and back
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  Speaker 1: and forth and people get upset. I think sometimes it
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  Speaker 1: has to do with much as anything just because there's
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  Speaker 1: politicians involved, even though they're on two sides of the aisle.
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  Speaker 1: It's a very, it's a bipartisan act, but Bill, but
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot going on there. I'm going to ask
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  Speaker 1: you just if you, can you give us a one-on-one
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  Speaker 1: on what it is and what we're looking at?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question. And it has kind of,
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  Speaker 2: it's been polarizing for a number of different reasons. First
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  Speaker 2: off to your earlier point to get, an act or
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  Speaker 2: a bill this far that's bipartisan. Kudos to Senator Cantwell
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  Speaker 2: and Senator Cruz for taking this on, this initiative. They've
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  Speaker 2: done tremendous work over the last several months. I'm supportive
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  Speaker 2: of it. Our institution is supportive of it for a
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  Speaker 2: number of different reasons. It kind of brings some logic
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  Speaker 2: back to what we're doing here. It's been hectic with
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  Speaker 2: the transfer portal, house settlement, NIL, rev share. You can't
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  Speaker 2: get through a classic game day experience anymore without hearing
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  Speaker 2: those terms. But here's a couple of different, I guess,
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  Speaker 2: just initiatives that it tackles. It does limit transfer opportunities
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  Speaker 2: for student athletes, brings those down to one opportunity to transfer,
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  Speaker 2: which I think we can all get behind that. Five
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  Speaker 2: for five back, whether you're injury or you transfer or whatever,
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  Speaker 2: your red shirt, whatever it is, you have five years
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  Speaker 2: to complete, five years of eligibility. It also puts some
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  Speaker 2: anti-protection or antitrust act protection in from the NCAA. So
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  Speaker 2: we can continue to do our jobs that have been
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  Speaker 2: the threat of getting sued, this left and right, like
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  Speaker 2: has been the case historically. It also puts some student
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  Speaker 2: athlete protections in there around from these rogue agents that
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  Speaker 2: I think are taking advantage of these young people here.
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  Speaker 2: Puts long-term medical care opportunities for protections with the students.
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  Speaker 2: So it brings all the logic back. It puts a
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  Speaker 2: true cap on what this rev share amount, NIL amount
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  Speaker 2: for these rosters can be. And then it puts parameters
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  Speaker 2: and framework around the enforcement because the enforcement has been
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  Speaker 2: pretty laxed on that. And everybody wants rules until it applies.
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  Speaker 2: And now we can have an opportunity to stand behind those.
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  Speaker 2: And there's ramifications if you don't stick to what we
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  Speaker 2: all agreed upon in the previous iteration, this house settlement.
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  Speaker 2: So it puts some logic back into it, levels of
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  Speaker 2: playing field in certain places. And it kind of brings some,
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  Speaker 2: I use air quotes here, stability back to what we're
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  Speaker 2: all working through. So I'm extraordinarily supportive of it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the thing that is mind-boggling to me
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  Speaker 1: at times, and I think a lot of fans, is... that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we all, I think we all agree that
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  Speaker 1: student athletes who generate revenue should probably be compensated. Right.
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  Speaker 1: I think that that makes sense. And, and more so
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  Speaker 1: than just the, you know, the education and the stipends
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  Speaker 1: that they get, I there's, I don't think anybody would
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  Speaker 1: argue with that. I mean, I think as most of
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  Speaker 1: us would say, Hey, you know what, that should be enough.
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  Speaker 1: Not anymore. There's too much money involved and the TV
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  Speaker 1: networks are paying too much. The thing that I just,
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  Speaker 1: no other sport. And if we, it's, we'll just use
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  Speaker 1: college football and college basketball, men's college basketball, women, I guess,
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  Speaker 1: to a certain extent, but those two sports to a
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  Speaker 1: certain extent, no other sport, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL,
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  Speaker 1: major league baseball, nobody has unlimited free agency where it
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: can happen at any time. And you can just, hell,
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  Speaker 1: you can tap out in the middle of a season
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  Speaker 1: and say, I'm going to, I'm done for this year.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to go into the portal and I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to get like no other, no other leagues have that.
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  Speaker 1: And yet there's people that seem to think it's a
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  Speaker 1: good idea for, 18, 19, 20, 21-year-olds to just not
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  Speaker 1: fulfill their requirements in terms of what they've signed if
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  Speaker 1: it is an NIL deal and all that. So that
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  Speaker 1: seems to be common sense. Why is there pushback on
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  Speaker 1: this bill?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's just because it is bipartisan and
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  Speaker 2: there's just some opposite views once you get down to
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  Speaker 2: the nitty-gritty and there's always things that are trying to
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  Speaker 2: be put in there to get it. over the hump
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  Speaker 2: or not over the hump. And so I think it
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  Speaker 2: just boils down to politics, not to oversimplify it.
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  Speaker 1: Right, no, it does.
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  Speaker 2: But I think we've lost our way in college athletics
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  Speaker 2: is keeping education as the North Star of our guiding
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  Speaker 2: light here. Money has infiltrated this. It's always been a
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  Speaker 2: part of it, but now the monies have never been
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  Speaker 2: higher as they are now. And so, yeah, I agree
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  Speaker 2: with your earlier point. I absolutely think when you think
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  Speaker 2: our student athletes will take football, for example, hit the
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  Speaker 2: facility at 6.30 or 7 a.m., And they've got class
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  Speaker 2: and they've got weightlifting and they've got all these different things, practice, film, study, meetings, whatever.
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  Speaker 2: They don't leave there until 8, 9 p.m.
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  Speaker 1: At night.
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  Speaker 2: And we are monetizing their ability to be out there
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  Speaker 2: and represent our institution and represent it well. And so
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  Speaker 2: the challenge with that, though, is the market has gotten
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  Speaker 2: absolutely bananas, I think is the technical term. So this
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  Speaker 2: puts some framework back around that. But again, anytime you
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  Speaker 2: get politics involved, there are things that they're trying to
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  Speaker 2: get across the line. But I'm hopeful they can work
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  Speaker 2: together and get this thing through.
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  Speaker 1: I see a guy like Deion Sanders pumping it up
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  Speaker 1: in a commercial, who's always been a guy that I
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  Speaker 1: think would pay a guy, I mean, his kids, whoever,
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  Speaker 1: would pay him whatever. Mark Few, who, Gonzaga, pays guys
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  Speaker 1: a lot. They bring guys in. So they're for it.
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  Speaker 1: Who's against it? Is it the bigger power, is it
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  Speaker 1: SEC Big Ten or not? Yeah, I think they're still
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  Speaker 1: split a little bit too. There's not necessarily groups to
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  Speaker 1: point out here. There are just some of the... Some
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  Speaker 1: of the representatives in those particular states that are still–
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  Speaker 1: you have some that are on board in the SEC
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  Speaker 1: and the Big Ten, some that are not. And it's just, again,
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  Speaker 1: they're continuing to have conversations. These have been around-the-clock conversations. But, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: there's still some minor sticking points that they've got to
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  Speaker 1: work through. John Harlow is the athletic director at Washington
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  Speaker 1: State University joining us here. So with that kind of
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  Speaker 1: as a framework– Where are we with college sports now?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I turn on the games. Ohio State, Texas
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  Speaker 1: was phenomenal. Just an absolute, just a ton of fun
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  Speaker 1: to watch. The games, when you watch them on TV,
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  Speaker 1: feel the same. They look the same. The pageantry is
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  Speaker 1: all still there. All those things are taking place, which
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  Speaker 1: is a good thing. Like a really, really good thing. But...
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  Speaker 1: that does feel like there's a little bit of a
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  Speaker 1: cloud hanging over things right now. How would you describe it? Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that that's accurate. I understand the sentiment
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  Speaker 1: and where the fans are coming from because it's not
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  Speaker 1: the classic college football that we're all used to. However,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: the talent level has never been higher than it is
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  Speaker 1: right now. What you're seeing out on the field, the
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  Speaker 1: product itself is mesmerizingly different than what it was 10
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: years ago. Just like everything else, it's changing. That's why
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  Speaker 1: this PCSA is so important. I do think it gets
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  Speaker 1: us back to somewhat of a framework instability to get
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: us back to what that, what that felt like now,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: but it's still competition on a college campus, which I
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: still believe is necessary to student life and the experiences
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  Speaker 1: that we, that we bring there. There's still an opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to educate these young people, the, the, the rev share
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  Speaker 1: and all those dollar signs, get all the flash in the,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: in the conversation. But at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 1: we're still educating these individuals and still providing an opportunity
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: for them to get education. And you still got, And
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: I realize there was some conversation about this previously, but
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say you still have the bands in
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  Speaker 1: these college stadiums and some of those types of things.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: And so there's still competition, students that are representing us
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  Speaker 1: on a national level in the heart of a campus.
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  Speaker 1: And there's still some emotion attached to that, more so
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: than you see in the pro. College athletics have always
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  Speaker 1: been important to most institutions in terms of enrollment too, right? Like,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I think that's the thing that's, I feel
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  Speaker 1: like this is one of those things. Lavelle Edwards famously said,
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. Then
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of coaches that have taken credit for
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: that same saying. I remember President Floyd, the late President Floyd,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: said the same thing about athletics are the front door.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe he wasn't the first guy to say that because
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  Speaker 1: a lot of school presidents say that. Not just Washington State.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: You've been other places. How important are college athletics to
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: the institution in terms of being the front door, enticing
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: kids to come whether it's a college football Saturday in Pullman,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: whether it's in the kennel in Gonzaga, whether it's an
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: experience at Motlake for a Husky fan, a Husky student,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: how important are college athletics to the business of the
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: actual university?
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Huge. Nothing has the reach and the scope that athletics
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: does for an institution. That's why I'm so grateful for
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: President Cantwell. She understands that. She's vocal about that. She
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: understands the need for us to have success, particularly in
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: football long-term, for us to continue to have visibility. as
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: you look at even our, our social channels, um, that
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: we do as an athletic department versus other campus extension,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: nothing has the reach and the scope and the following
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: that our athletic programs do, especially as you look at
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: the new, uh, the new scope of the, of the
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: new PAC 12, we're into different markets down into Texas, uh,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: in the Denver market, um, in, in places up and
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: down the West coast that we are still heavily focused
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: from an enrollment standpoint that we can bring in new
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: out of state and certainly want to still focus on
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: the in-state, um, But nothing has that reach. And I
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  Speaker 2: can't speak for every campus, but we don't view ourselves
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: as a separate entity as an athletic department. We're an
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  Speaker 2: extension of the mission. And we can help bring awareness
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: of what we're doing, incredible things on the research side
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: or what we're doing as an academic enterprise. And so
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: when we get opportunities in front of 7 million people
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: like we had a couple Sundays ago on NBC, we
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: can tell the story. That gives more people interest. We
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: can get into more homes through successful athletics than you
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: can through anything else that we do as an institution.
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  Speaker 3: Right.
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  Speaker 1: I hear people talk about this. John Harlow, athletic director
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: at Washington State, joining me. I hear the thought sometimes, well,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: they'll sell the rights to the name and the jersey
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and whatever to just make it completely a pro sport.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: I shudder when I think of that. I went to
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: class with Ruben Mays. And a week later, he's running
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: for 400 yards against Oregon. He sat in... Actually, people
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: went to class back then. He probably went more than
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: I did. In fact, I know he did. But I
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: just can't fathom... just having guys come in and play
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: minor league football, effectively representing the school that don't step
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: foot on campus. I can't, it nauseates me, but I
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: hear people talk about that. Do you ever see a
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: day where that could come? I know there's a lot
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: of chatter about it. I hope wholeheartedly that it does
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: not get to that because there's still education is supposed
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: to be at the focus of what we're, what we're
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: doing here. It's not a pro sport. We're not, we're
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: not hiring these people. We're not firing these people. We're
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: still educating them, providing access. You know, the representatives of
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: us certainly, and they are on our campus. Um, But
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: if that ever goes away, then to your early point,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: we have completely lost the mark and we are no
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: longer the entity. It's got to be, and our AD
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: group talks about this a lot. We've got to keep
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: education as the focus. We're still supposed to be educating
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: and building character in these young people. That's at the
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: heart of what we do, not just sport performance.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: I love it.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: John Harlow, Athletic Director, Washington State. Can you stick around
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: for a few more minutes? Absolutely. We'll take a quick break.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Come back. You mentioned it. I'll bring it up. Band gate.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: Just what you wanted to hear, right?
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Fair enough.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: We'll do that coming up next. All right, welcome back in.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: John Harlow, Athletic Director, Washington State University, joining me in studio.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Appreciate him coming by today. All right, let's get into
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: some other stuff, good stuff on the Protect College Sports
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Act and just kind of give us a good feel
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: on where we're at in the world we're in right now.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about our world. I'm going to get this
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: out of the way because I think it was much
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: ado about nothing, but it was something that still people
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: want to know. You and I talked about this on
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: the phone a couple weeks ago, the whole band gate situation.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: And I was like, my bigger thing was like, Wazoo,
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: like control the narrative, like this, like all these stuff's
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: coming out. Walk us through exactly why the band wasn't here.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: And let me just point out, I won't let you,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to have you say this. I will.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: Washington's band's only traveling to one game this year and
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: that's Oregon. So like, it feels like it's a trend
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: across college sports or football, what have you, but what happened?
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: I appreciate the question. and I've said this before, I'll
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: say it again. We have a tremendous partnership with Cougar
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: Marching Band.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: They're, they're awesome.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Dr. Sweet.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: They're not part of the athletic department.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: They are not. They are part of College of Arts
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: and Sciences. So, um, we had conversations early when, when
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: looking at the game. Um, and as it was, it
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: was discussed, Hey, they'd play pregame. They'd play at halftime
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: and this and that. We sat down with Dr.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Sweet.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Um, Courtney Meehan is the Dean of the College of
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Arts and Sciences. Again, we, we talked to them weekly.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: We have great conversations with them and how they, They
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: make Cougar football Saturday. But as we talked about, hey,
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: if you play pregame, it's going to take you half
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: the first quarter to get up into the 300s. And
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: then if you want to play for halftime, you're going
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: to miss the second quarter. You're going to be traveling
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: down the whole time. Then you're down and you play.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: And by the time they get back up, they'll miss
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: the third quarter. They'll be in their seats for the
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: fourth quarter. With the difficulties and logistics there, just thought, hey,
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: and again, these were conversations back and forth with the band. Hey,
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: that's probably not the experience. Just be going up and down,
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: up and down. for them to make the impact or
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: have the experience there for the travel, for them to
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: get over there that they would be used to, or
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: they've been used to in the past. And so, you know, again,
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: thankful for them and the cooperation that we have and
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: the partnership and dialogue that we do have with them
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: so often. But at the end of the day, it just,
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: for the time they'd be in their seats and more
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: of a, just up and down those stairs, up and
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: down those elevators, well, wasn't worth their time to be
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: over there from an experience perspective.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: And we, everyone knows I'm a big protector of Washington.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: I'm always a supporter of the Huskies, uh, 10 and cheek,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: but this wasn't a, this is something they've done for everybody.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: It's a change in the policy with the big 10.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: You have great, I think you have a pretty good
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: relationship with the athletic director, right? He hired you.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: I absolutely do.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So I'm sure you had conversations with him as well. Yeah,
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: we did.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: This was nothing, uh, you know, as part of the
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: rivalry or them doing anything different than, than what they
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: do to others. Um, it's, it's, it's a monetization game anymore. Right.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: So as, as part of what they've done was selling
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: their tickets, they've moved the band to the three hundreds.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: And I, and I get that we don't, we don't
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: have an upper deck on the other side to move
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: an opposing band to for us, but they've, you know,
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: they've sold season tickets in that area. So they repositioned
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: the band over there and, Yeah, some schools choose to
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: travel them. Others don't.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, that's just what it is. So it's
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: good to know. What about the future of the game?
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of folks that... You're not going to
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: let me off the hook. No, I'm not. John, you're here.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: John Harlow, Washington Athletic Director. There's a lot. I mean,
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: and I think this is where the rivalry does come
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: into play. The emotion of the rivalry, right? There's a
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: lot of fans that just are, as soon as Washington left,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I was one of them. Screw it. Let's not do
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: it anymore. I can see both sides. And that goes
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: for the other sports on campus as well. But as
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: far as football is concerned, that's the marquee event. My
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: opinion is this. It doesn't feel like the Apple Cup.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: It's in September, whether it's in Pullman, Seattle, or Montlake.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: It doesn't feel like it. It's odd. And I think
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: for me, the bigger thing, John, is this. It's no
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: longer a conference game that really you can make or
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: break your season and vice versa.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: the stakes aren't that high. Sure, it's in-state, but really
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: they don't care about us. We don't really care about them,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: what have you, back and forth. So what would you say,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: there's what, three years left, two years left in the deal?
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: Two more.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, so what do you think the future is in
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: those discussions taking place between you and Pat?
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to your earlier point, if you pull our fan base,
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: they're 50-50 down the middle. And Pat and I continue
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: to have conversations about this. You're right, it's not the
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: same as what it was because there's not as much
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: on the line at the end of the season. That's
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: part of that nostalgic feeling, I think. It's a great
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: opportunity for us to show off to Washingtonians All the
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: different things that go on in our state. It's a
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: great celebration of that. They want to win a Big
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Ten championship. We want to win a Pac-12 championship. Both
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: want to get to the CFP. CFP continues to change
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: the criteria of how your schedule composition works. They're going
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: to be adding or potentially adding some additional conference games.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: And so we have to figure out, and again, we're
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: in ongoing conversations, does this make sense for either school
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: when the bigger picture is not just to win a
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: game against a rival school, it's to get to the
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: CFP or to win a conference championship. So conversations will
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: continue to happen. We just have to not lose the
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: bigger picture in scheduling one game going forward.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: There's folks that'll say, hey, Washington State has to do
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: it because of the money. Correct me if I'm wrong.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: I think it's good for Wazoo financially because you know
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: you're going to sell a game out in Martin Stadium
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: every other year. But this isn't like going and playing
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: an SEC school in a one-off or a big 10
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: school in a one-off or even a big 12 or
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: ACC school in a one-off. This isn't, they're not writing
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: a check for seven figures for you guys, right?
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: Correct.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: This has just been a classic other than obviously we
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: played in Lumen and did some different rev share things there.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: But this is a classic home and home scheduling agreement.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: It's not a buy game or a sell game where
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: you're getting a million plus if you're traveling to an
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: A4 school elsewhere. So this has just been, hey, we're
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: going to play you there and play you there. It
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: may be a small stipend that you exchange. $ 300, 000, $ 400, 000, whatever,
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: to help with some of the travel logistics as part
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: of the contract. But no, not the way it has
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: been historically set up.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: John, this is a loaded question, but would you, in
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: a sense, financially be better off playing another SEC school
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: another big 10 school in a one-off.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Well there would certainly be upside there financially financially yeah
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: um and as we know our fan base loves to
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: go see new college towns we saw it in oxford
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: against old miss last year we saw it in manhattan
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: uh this past saturday our fan base travels extremely well
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: and they always make friends with those those communities that
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: they travel to and so um From an experience, and
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: then I do believe we'd be able to capitalize on
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: a higher level of investment if we were to do
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: something different.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels, just for me, it would feel like,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: I don't know, I mean, I'm torn a little bit.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: I don't like the Apple Cup of basketball after being
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: played for a couple years, going away. And then having
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: an exhibition game here, I'll tell you, that leaves me
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: a sour taste in the mouth. I wish David wouldn't
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: have done that. I just think it makes us look small,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: if I'm being honest with you. And I don't like that.
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: Play in Seattle.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: You are.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: I think there's a tournament in Seattle against Seattle U, right? Correct.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: I'd rather see more games in Seattle, whether it be
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: at CPA or Shower Center or up in wherever, Tri-Cities
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: as opposed to Spokane. I'm kind of that way, too.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: I'm throwing it all at you right now. No, I
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: like it because those are conversations that we've continued to have.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: And I'm saying when students are on campus is my point.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Yeah, because that's a game changer, right? And we
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: know that the lion's share of our fan base is
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: over on this side of the state. So whether that's men's,
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: women's basketball, volleyball, soccer, or even baseball, we've continued to
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: have conversations with different facilities over here about how we
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: can bring the Cougs over to the west side. So
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: stay tuned for that. Okay.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: New Pac-12.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: The TV deal, first and foremost, seems to be pretty good.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: It's not necessarily ESPN, but that means also, I should
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: point out the ESPN thing. The Oregon Ducks got thrown
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: over on the ESPN news and then back to like,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: they were on three different ESPN networks in the middle
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: of their game the other day. That's not a great
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: TV deal. I don't care if you're on ESPN or not.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: I like the USA production. I think CW has done
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: a pretty good job as well, just from a TV standpoint.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I think they've done a good job. What's the reaction
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: so far on the new media rights deal? it's been
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: really good from an exposure standpoint. All of our games
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: are on national TV, whether that's CW USA or CBS,
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: we've had great opportunities thus far. And USA has continued
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: to make investments in that. They want to be, you know,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: the next big thing in college football. So they've made
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: that a priority. There's a lot of Cougs involved there.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: Obviously Ryan Leaf calling the games. We're going to have
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Alex Brink calling a game here for us here this weekend,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I believe on USA. So they've continued to make it
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: a priority and they've made us feel like a priority
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: in that too. And so what we, Love the exposure
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: that's given the conference. Is the revenue what you expected?
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's never enough, right? It doesn't matter what
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: the deal is worth. There's a trade-off then. There has
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: been a trade-off there. It's not the dollar figures that
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: we had previously. However, we are, again, on national TV.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: And there's a relevance there to keeping our brand across
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: every device across the country. And so that's tough to
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: put a price tag on. But what it's giving us
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: from a national landscape has been really, really good.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Uh, John Harlow, athletic director, Wazoo with me. All right, let's, uh,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: let's get into the brass tacks. What's going on on
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: campus right now. First of all, not the start we
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: all wanted in football, strong performance. I thought for the
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: most part in Seattle, uh, Washington then struggles against Utah state.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: We don't know anything this time of the year with
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: college football. Anyway, uh, they struggled with Utah state, Kansas state,
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: really good team. I don't know. To me, they're a
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: easily a top 25 team in a big 12, a
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: contender watching Avery Johnson in that defense and so forth. Uh,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I know you have discussions all the time with Kirby.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: I'm sure he's not thrilled with how things have gone
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: so far, but, uh, your assessment of the football program. Yeah.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: Really proud of our, of our student athletes. First and foremost,
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: they've competed their tails off in, in both games, both
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: really good programs. And I think we're going to see
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: continue to, to climb up the, up the scales as
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: the season goes on. We expect to win every game.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: Coach Moore expects to win every game. So no one
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: is content with a loss and it doesn't matter how
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: that loss looks. A loss is a loss. And so, um,
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: he knows that's not the standard. He knows that those
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: aren't the results adjustments have to be made. And I
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: know he's already been committed to doing that. We have
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: continual conversations often and, um, you know, he, he holds
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: himself and his staff to a really high standard. And
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: so no one's content with how we've played thus far. Um,
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: but again, really proud of the group and the effort
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: that they continue to put in. Um, and great thing
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: is we got 10 games left and there's still an
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: opportunity to compete for a PAC 12 championship on the table.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: We've learned a lot to these first two games against
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: really tough opponents. So, This Kansas State game was scheduled
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: 10 years ago. Apple Cup, a handful of years ago.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: They're obviously as well. We'll see how those impact how
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: we schedule going forward, but this was a really tough test.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you could have a harder opener
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: than at Washington, at K-State. That's fun. On a short week.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: On a short week. Duquesne this week, that would have
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: been nice to have the first week, although it's funny because, again,
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: I'll reference my friends at Oregon. They're down there saying,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: why couldn't we have seen Portland State week one with
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: two new coordinators, and then Boise state, and then go
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: to Oklahoma, although Oklahoma state hadn't, I mean, former Wazoo, uh,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: coach Morris, uh, cranking things up, you know, and good
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: for him, uh, and mess to make her the, what
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: is it about Kirby Moore that attracted you to him?
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: He's obviously got a high football IQ. He's had a pedigree. Um,
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: obviously his dad, a football coach for a number of years, um,
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: learned under some, you know, uh, Chris Peterson, um, coach Drinkowitz, uh,
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: Jeff Tedford. He's done it at a high level. Uh, yeah.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: And he, and those two talk quite a bit. Um,
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: So you can tell from early in our conversations that
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: he understands the importance of football at WSU. Growing up
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: as an Eastern Washington kid, he lives, eats, and breathes it.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: The other piece, non-football related, is how much he cares
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: about the student athlete. And he talks about this often. It's, yes,
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: he absolutely wants to win every game, push them to
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: their potential from a football standpoint. But he equally cares
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: as much about their off the field, their character, their
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: and what they do in the classroom. So he talks
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: about chasing two dreams, your football-related dream, and then whatever's
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: after football. And that's important because, again, back to our
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: North Star, we want to educate these kids. We want
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: them to grow when they're on our campus. And so
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: you can't argue with, I think he's like 39 and
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: 16 as a coordinator from Fresno and Mizzou, something like that.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: He understands the game at a high level, and there's
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: a lot of upside there.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, he goes to Kansas State or Husky Stadium.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: He's coached on the sideline of SEC games. He understands that,
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: and it's just a matter of getting guys there. I've
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: made the argument that I believe in Brennan Huffman from Rivals,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: a big friend of the show, a big close friend
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: of ours. We help him with some charity stuff. And
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: with Huff, you know, I had this conversation with him
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: a couple weeks ago down at Georgetown. We were doing
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: our beer release for his foundation, among the others. And
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I said, it feels to me like Wazoo's still getting
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: the exact same players out of high school they always have.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: And I would make the argument Oregon State is too,
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Boise State is too, and so is Washington and Oregon
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: and USC, et cetera. The difference in college football now is,
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: and maybe even college basketball, but certainly in college football,
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: is that you get those guys, and instead of watching
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: a guy develop for three or four years, Will Durting
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: comes from the dirt fields of the Okanagan or wherever
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: the hell he's from, and then all of a sudden
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: ends up being, you know, M. Christo Bruce, great example,
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Liberty High School, you know, quarterback, good friend of our show,
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: and MK comes in, and it's like that guy at
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Liberty High School was under-recruited. He would never have stayed
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: four years at Pullman, right? Marcus Trufant, would he have
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: stayed four years at Pullman?
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: No.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: That's the hard thing right now. Is that the biggest
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: challenge that these guys are facing is you can't really
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: develop players anymore? And how do you change that? Is
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: it even possible?
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that absolutely is the biggest. In some of these situations,
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: you've got one or two years to see what they're
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: made of, and then they make a choice to go elsewhere.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: We still believe that we developed them at a high
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: level here. And that's, again, both on and off the
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: field opportunities. We're not always going to be able to
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: change or to win the money game.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: We're not.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: But we can't control the culture. And I think that's
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: what I take great heart in and belief in and
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: dedication to is we can wrap these kids in all
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: sorts of support while they're here. And then if we
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: can show incremental investments, they know that they're going to
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: have one of the best experiences here because they feel
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: supported from a community, from mental health, academic, whatever you have.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: Then we'll at least make them think twice before they
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: just hop for the next situation. We know, and I
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: don't have hard data other than conversations, we know that
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: several of the guys that have left our teams thus
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: far missed their time in Pullman. because they were, they
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: were growing as a, as a human, they were growing,
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: you know, and obviously their game continues to develop too,
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: but that's the hardest part is especially for our fan base.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: And I get that used to see him for four
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: or five years. Now you get them for one or two.
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: That's where from an athletic department standpoint, we have to
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: do a better job of telling the story who's underneath
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: the helmet. I get, and this is the best part
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: of my job. I get to know all of our
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: student athletes, you know, and I'm around them every day.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: That's the, that's the therapy for me is one hour.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: I get to practice or whatever else. And they are incredible.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: group of young people, that being a Coug still means
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: something to them. They don't know conference this, conference that, whatever.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: They know that they're still representing Washington State and that
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: that Coug still means something to them. It's important to them.
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: And they hear it from our 250,000 living alumni. And
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: so it's still important. I wouldn't expect us to recruit
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: any differently than we always have. And whether they're here
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: for one year or two or three or four, I
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: hope they're here the whole time. And we're going to
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: do everything we can to make that happen. But again,
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: whether it's a short time or a long time that
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: we have them, we're going to lean into them. And
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: they're going to know that they are cherished, loved members
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: of this WSU community from the moment they step off
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: campus to whenever they choose to do something next.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: I'll wrap it up with this. John Harlow, Athletic Director, Wazoo.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: You mentioned your one-hour therapies with student-athletes because the other
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: 19 hours of your day are probably spent in a
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: world that's a lot different. Athletic directors used to be administrators.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Now athletic directors are administrators probably second, fundraisers first, if
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken. And that's the biggest challenge. I've never
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: liked this woe-is-me attitude out of Pullman of, well, we
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: don't have the money and all that. I'm sure if
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: we were able to really look at a roster of
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: the Fortune 500 companies in our state, and there are plenty,
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: and say, how many are Wazoo alums? There's probably plenty
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: on there that are up very high on the depth
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: chart of CEOs and other things like that and CFOs, whatever,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: money people, other people that have invested. You drive along
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: Lake Washington, there's hundreds of homes that are all worth 10, 12,
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: 15 million. Some of those have to be Cougs. And
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: then on the other side, you've got the wheat farmers
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: and the orchard guys and all the agriculture community that
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: are wazoo people. There's plenty of Cougs out there that
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: have done well and have money. We've never found that money.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: How do you find that money? I know that's your
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: biggest challenge. So what's the secret sauce?
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think part of it is somewhere we became
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: a bit transactional there too. And we've got to get
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: back to being relationship-based. That's what makes WSU, WSU. Being
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: a Coug, being a Coug. And so we've got one
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: of the larger alumni bases in the new Pac-12, 250,000
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: living alumni. We've got 2,800 members of the CAF at
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: a $ 100 point of entry. That's pretty low. And so
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: we've been super aggressive over the last couple of months,
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: just getting across the state. I think I've been, if
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: there's 260 some calendar days thus far this year, I've
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: been on the road 160 of them, like 60 some percent,
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: just going wherever people will listen, quite honestly. Get in
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: front of Cougs, because I don't want to come out
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: to people with just my hands open. I want to
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: explain the vision. I want to explain the impact that
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: these young people, what the opportunity they have in front
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: of them and the impact that these individuals can make
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: on them. And then if you buy into that vision,
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: you believe in it, make the investment come along with
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: us because our ceiling is championship level, but we can't
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: do it unless we activate everyone. And so it's just
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: about getting out, being amongst cougs. And it doesn't matter,
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: you know, we're up and down this I-5 corridor or
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: we're in Tri-Cities or in Spokane. We've been to Ritzville
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: and anything in between. There are Cougars that want to
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: have a conversation. They want to complain to me. That's fine.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: I want to listen.
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: I want to know how we can get better. So
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: we don't know what we don't know, and it's just
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: about getting out there and having conversations.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: It's a hard thing because you mentioned this Cougar Athletic Fund,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: and there's also the NIL world, right? And so people
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: want to know, what do you donate to? What do
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: you write a check to? And then there's the guilt
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: that comes. There's people that are doing it. Hey, you
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: can't complain about the Cougs unless you were writing a
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: big check, and not all people can afford to write
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: a check. And it's like there's that balancing act that's hard,
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: but where do you write the check?
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I always encourage individuals to write a check
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: to our Cougar Athletic Fund, which is a university foundation
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: component there. It goes through the excellence funds that our
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: coaches control that then can make investments in their roster.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: So CAF Fund can go to student athletes and NIL money? Correct. Okay.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: And let me, because this is when NIL.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: First- It's very confusing.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: It's very confusing.
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: NIL is name, image, likeness. Right. And what true NIL is,
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: is a relationship between a business and and a student athlete.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: There's an exchange of goods, or they do something for
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: this company or whatever, an appearance, autograph, whatever. That's true NIL.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: What the institution can invest in, what you hear about
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: this house settlement, this cap, is rev share. So you
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: can pay up to around $ 22 million in rev share.
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: So when you donate to the CAF, it goes to
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: an excellence fund, and then we can give RevShare to
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: these student athletes at the coach's discretion. They're tax deductible,
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: just as any other donation would be to our foundation.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: We have direct control over that. Coaches do, they can
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: invest the money where they want to. Same place that
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: we take in donations for scholarships. And obviously we keep
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: those separate, but if RevShare is not your thing, I
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: get that. We need it, but I get it. But
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: scholarships still at the heart of what we do. And
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: we still need dollars to go towards that as well.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: That makes sense. Because I mean, it's, and I, the
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: NIL thing, we got to go. The NIL thing's funny.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: Ashley's sitting here and Like in our world, we do NIL.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: We do endorsements. You know, Ashley has a bunch. I
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: got a couple. I mean, we do endorse. That's what name, image,
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: and likeness is. It feels like we've gotten away from that.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: You know, I mean, I think Simply Seattle, they're a
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: big sponsor. They do a good job with Washington athletes.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: You know, they have guys signing autographs, things like that. That,
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: to me, Valley Buick GMC, I think Caden Penning's driving
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: a truck from them. The first truck they gave was
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: Cam Ward's. Imagine that. And he can buy the place
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: now if he wanted to. But that's what it is, right?
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: And so I think I look at all those things,
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: and I think that's where the confusion comes in as well.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: But good stuff. Can we do this again sometime?
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: You're over here a lot, so I might bother you
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: again at some point as well. So great to have
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: you in studio, John. Thank you so much. Thank you.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Go Cougs.
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: That is.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: Go Cougs. That's John Harlow, Athletic Director of Washington State.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: We'll take a break. Come back for more 93.3 KJR FM.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Something not good, but something good hopefully coming out of
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: later on tonight. My buddy Gary joins me. one of
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: the owners, operators of the Hall Group, the Queen Anne
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: Beer Hall, the Moss Bay Hall, and, of course, the
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: Occidental Hall as well. And, Gary, first of all, buddy,
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: thanks for joining me, man. I appreciate you coming on today.
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: Hey, thanks, Ian. I appreciate being here.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: Let me just talk about what's going on tonight. Queen
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Anne Beer Hall, starting at 6 p.m., there's a fundraiser
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: taking place for one of your bartenders. Tell us what's
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: going on with Patrick.
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so Patrick, you know, he's a bartender.
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: He's a friend. He's part of our family.
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: He's a true leader in the community, and he's been
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: with us the whole time. And a few years ago,
• 34:45
  Speaker 3: he came down with throat cancer. It was pretty devastating
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: for everyone and finally went into remission. Last year, his
• 34:52
  Speaker 3: wife then got cancer.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: His wife just.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: Recently passed in late 2025, and his cancer has now
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: come back, and now it's spread to his lungs.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: He has a beautiful 10.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: Year old girl and a beautiful seven year old girl.
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: And we're just trying to make sure that they know
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: they're not alone. And it's unbelievable to me, Ian, how
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: this community comes together. You know, Seattle's always been that
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: kind of community. And it's just going to be an
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: amazing night to raise money for that family. We've got
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: silent auctions.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: We have bidding.
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: We have lots of great sports memorabilia and trips and
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: things like that. Tickets are $ 60 to come in. 100%
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: of that goes directly to Patrick. And then 20% of
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: all sales go directly to their family. So... It's going
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: to be a good night for a good cause for sure.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: Silent auction raffles and so much more starts at 6
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: o'clock at the Queen Anne Beer Hall. Again, you guys
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: are such great supporters of what we do here at
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: our station. And if I think anybody listening right now
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: who's ever been to a Kraken game or a concert
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: up at Climate Pledge Arena probably would recognize Patrick as
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: one of the great people there that's– pouring some beers
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: and serving you and having a great time. And with
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: a young family and his wife passing, this is just
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: an awful, awful situation. So if you're in the area,
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: if you're out and about, I would urge you, I
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: wish I could be there tonight, but I would urge
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: you guys to go support Patrick and his family tonight
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: starting at 6 o'clock again at the Queen Anne Beer Hall.
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: You guys, I know, and congratulations, you guys just had
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: a huge anniversary celebration on Monday. for the success you
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: guys have had in that business. But then you see
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: something like this, and it brings it back home, makes
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: it very real. So, again, give us the details again
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: tonight at the Queen Anne Beer Hall. One more time, Gary.
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it starts at 6 o'clock. It's $ 60 to get in.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: That goes directly to Patrick.
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: We've got to get a Warren Moon signed Husky helmet.
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: We've got trips and packages and Kraken tickets and storm
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: tickets and all kinds of great stuff to try to
• 36:53
  Speaker 3: even raise more money with the silent auction. We just
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: want to just have a good time and drink some
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: beers to them. And 20% of all sales that come
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: in today go right to him as well.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: So we'd love to see everybody out here. You guys
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: are great supporters of my golf tournament, the Mayor of
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Maple Valley Open every year, which supports Jordan Morris Foundation,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: Avery Huffman, DIPG, and Holinsky's Hope. And also we just
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: had our beer, and we're hoping to make the beer
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: bigger and better next year and get it out to
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: places like the Three Hall restaurants and bars. We're hoping
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: that we can make that work with Columbia and Georgetown.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: But you guys help us raise a lot of money
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: for those three foundations. And I think that they would
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: be fine with this, Jordan and the Linskys and my
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: friend Brandon. We're going to be sending a donation as
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: well on behalf of the mayor charities as well to
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: you guys to help support Patrick. So I'll coordinate that
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: with you.
• 37:50
  Speaker 3: People can't come out tonight. You can go on to
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: our website, thehall.group, and you can also make a donation
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: there if you're not able to make it out.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: All right, and we're going to do that for you
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: guys as well, courtesy of our tournament and everything you
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: guys do to support that. So that will be coming
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: your way as well, buddy.
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: Amazing.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: All right, man. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Gary.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: Thank you, buddy. You bet. That's Gary from the Hall.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: Head on out there tonight, Queen on Beer Hall. Those
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: guys just are tremendous assets to the community there. The
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: three restaurants and bars are great, but the people in
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: there are even better, and you hate to hear something
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: like that. Just an awful situation for Patrick and his family.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: All right, we'll take a break. We'll come back. We're
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: going to check in. Corbin Smith is here. The latest
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: on Sam Darnold, the latest on the Seahawks quarterback situation.
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: We are here at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, so
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: we can tell you the latest and what we saw
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: as well. Coming up next.